The intravenous administration of liquids or, more particularly, medicaments and/or nutrients (collectively referred to below as medicaments) is commonplace. A medicament is so administered using an administration set including means defining a flow path having an upstream or entry end adapted to be fluidly connected to a liquid container or reservoir, e.g. a bottle or bag, containing the medicament and a downstream or exit end adapted to be fluidly connected to a vasopuncture device which is inserted into the patient's blood vessel, e.g. artery. The flow path is defined over a major portion of its length by a flexible intravenous tube formed of light-transmitting, e.g. clear, plastic material.
It is becoming more common to run a plurality of "I.V. lines" to a patient, i.e. to simultaneously intravenously administer a plurality of medicaments from respective liquid containers through respective flow paths defined by a corresponding plurality of administration sets. This can be accomplished without difficulty when only two or even three lines are running.
It is not uncommon today for as many as six to nine different I.V. lines to simultaneously run through respective administration sets to a single patient. However, problems are often encountered in such cases, especially where the exit ends of the flow paths of the administration sets are fluidly connected to vasopuncture devices located proximate to each other, such as in the blood vessels of the arms, neck and head. In particular, the flexible intravenous tubes of the administration sets tend to become tangled and interwoven with each other as the patient moves or is moved by hospital personnel, due to the "memory" of the plastic material from which the tubes are made. The intravenous tubes generally tend to bow or spiral during use in an attempt to return to the curled form in which they were packaged. The tangled tubes must be simply and safely identified without the aid of additional equipment (e.g., separators).
The tangling of intravenous tubes becomes a significant problem, for example, when it is necessary during a surgical procedure to inject another drug as quickly as possible through an intermediate coupling provided in an existing I.V. line. Such situations occur for example, when a patient to whom a plurality of I.V. lines are running goes into shock and it is not possible to find another blood vessel into which to inject another drug. In such a case, it is the practice to inject the drug into the line or flexible flow path through which a benign medicament is already being administered, i.e. to "piggyback" an additional I.V. line with an existing line. However, it is not always an easy matter to distinguish one line from another in the short time available in emergency situations, such as during anaesthesia or during emergency surgical procedures. Catastrophic results may occur where a drug is inadvertently injected into an I.V. line through which a medicament is already flowing which is not compatible with the injected or "piggy-backed" drug. For example, if heparin or protamine is inadvertently injected into a line through which lidocane is already flowing, a flakey precipitate forms in the mixture which should not be injected into the patient's blood vessels.
It is seen from the foregoing that it is desirable to provide a system for the intravenous administration of a plurality of medicaments through a plurality of administration sets wherein the particular medicament flowing through each intravenous tube or line can be readily and reliably identified.
Conventional attempts to administer a plurality of medicaments through a plurality of administration sets wherein the particular medicament flowing through each intravenous tube or line can be readily and reliably identified, include the use of a plurality of administration sets wherein each intravenous tube or line for each administration set includes indicia disposed at intervals along the length of the tube. Typically, the indicia is printed on the tubes at intervals of about six inches and is printed three times at each location along the tube, around its circumference. In other conventional administration sets the indicia is printed once at each location in a spiralling pattern along the tube.
In the conventional administration sets, the I.V. tubing is constructed of clear plastic, so that the color of the fluid flowing therethrough may be easily identified. The type of indicia which is printed on the tubes includes letters, bands of color or other symbols.
However, the conventional intravenous administration sets have several drawbacks. First, the conventional systems require a three-step manufacturing process. The clear plastic tubing is first extruded and then the indicia is applied to the tubing. The indicia is then sealed to the tubing. Secondly, as mentioned above, aside from where the indicia is printed along the tubing, the I.V. tubing is constructed of clear plastic. As such, if it is necessary to quickly administer a light sensitive medicament, such as ampicillin, the I.V. tubing must first be covered with a light shielding material, such as aluminum foil. This seriously inhibits the quick administration of the medicament.
Thus, a need has arisen in the intravenous administration field for an administration set wherein the particular medicament flowing through each intravenous tube can be readily and reliably identified, is easily manufactured and readily administers light sensitive medicaments.
The present invention provides a system for the intravenous administration of a plurality of different liquids to a patient. The system includes a plurality of flexible single-walled tubes which are fabricated of a polymeric material wherein the material used to form each tube has a different coloring agent from the material used to form the other tubes such that each of the tubes is of a different translucent color throughout its entire length. Since the tubes are translucent throughout their entire length, light sensitive medicaments can be administered by the system without providing further shielding of light. Moreover, because the tubes are constructed of a polymeric material having a coloring agent, the manufacturing process is relatively simple, thereby reducing the overall cost of the administrative system. Consequently, use of the present invention results in a safer and more efficient medication delivery system without further increasing the cost of the administration set.